A/N – Hi guys this is my first story! I'm so nervous. This is just the prologue but I should be updating every few days if I get the chance. In this Morgana is good and she isn't Arthurs half-brother. Merlin hasn't met Freya yet and Lancelot never died.

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

Flashbacks/Dreams

Enjoy!

Prologue

Merlin stumbled into Arthurs chambers, late as usual, balancing the Princes breakfast on one hand, while opening the door.

He set it on the large oak table in the centre of the room, and went to draw the curtains on the other side of the room.

Pulling them back, warm, glittering rays of summer sun danced, giving the whole room more colour and making the windows shine. It also roused the prince some, judging by the muffled groans coming from the bed.

Merlin gave a happy exclamation of "Let's have you lazy daisy!" thinking 'I might just get away with being late today seeing as the prince wasn't eve-'

"So, Late again Merlin?"

Damn. How does he even know that? "Err…No? What gave you that silly idea? Me? Late? As if" he said, giving a small nervous chuckle.

"Of course you wouldn't be late Merlin it's not like you've been late before or anything…Note the heavy sarcasm in my voice."

Merlin ducked his head instinctually, expecting the goblet the hit the wall behind him. "What was that for? Prat"

"This is the 4th time this week you've been late Merlin! You are the worst manservant ever. I should put you in the stocks for this. I suspect they have become much like a second home to you; you spend enough time in them."

"Yeah right! You can barely even dress yourself! You wouldn't last a week without me."

"Shut up Merlin."

"Clotpole."

Merlin shuffled around the room, picking up various items of discarded clothing and scattered bits of armour which wasn't picked up after Arthur pulled it off after training yesterday, all the while muttering darkly about stubborn prattish princes and there annoying habits of making more mess than necessary, and how the stocks were evil. The prince was eating his breakfast by this point.

"We're going hunting this afternoon, so make sure my room is clean, my armour is polished, my sword is sharpened, and then muck out the stables and pack enough for an overnight stay. Pack my crossbow too. We leave at midday."

Merlin just grumbled and carried on cleaning.

Several minutes later, a guard knocked on the door, requesting Arthur's presence in throne room, on order of the king.

"Make sure you complete EVERYTHING before midday Merlin"

"Do we have to go hunting? Really? I mean what reason do you have to kill little innocent fluffy animals?"

"Don't be such a girl Merlin! Yes we are going and the knights will be joining us, and possibly Gwen and Morgana may also be joining us. So hurry up!"

"Prat"

"Idiot"

"Dollophead"

"Moron"

"Clotpole"

"Merlin!"

"Shut up?"

Arthur just glared, and then left, slamming the door on his way out.

By noon Merlin was exhausted after completing his tasks, and he went down to the stables to prepare some horses for the journey, taking the supplies with him.

Minutes he started to saddle the first horse, Arthur walked up, knights, Gwen and Morgana in tow.

The Knights (Gwaine, Lancelot, Leon and Percival) got their horses saddled while Morgana and Gwen had stable hands prepare theirs.

They soon set off, however as soon as they got past the gates and into the forest, Merlin got a deep seated foreboding feeling in the pit of his stomach that something would happen on this trip that would have a big impact in the future….